So What?

"What just happened?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it clearly."

"Did someone make a move?"

"Fast. Too fast!"

A burly, curly-haired man in a chef's uniform stood at the tavern door with his arms folded. Beside him, the young server who had been smacked earlier rubbed the bump on his head.

"Incredible. Just like the rumors said."

Hearing the chef beside him, the boy asked curiously, "Head Chef Lanqi, did you see what happened?"

Lanqi, a sixth-tier chef, stroked his curly beard and shook his head. "No, I didn't see a thing. But..."

"But?"

Lanqi stared at the people inside, his gaze settling on Kim Tae-sik, who was clutching his neck. "In that instant, the item that saves his life was triggered. But his epic defensive equipment didn't activate. That alone tells us enough."

"What does that mean?" The boy was still confused.

"You fool!"

Among the onlookers, only one other person had noticed something amiss: a heavyset man from Greenland with a pronounced beer belly. His expression had turned grave.

His deep-set blue eyes locked onto the black-haired boy from China. He had even forgotten to wipe the beer foam from the corner of his mouth.

"To pull off something like that... No wonder the Tyrant is famous across the world!"

"Interesting!"

Outside the tavern, snow drifted over the street.

Park Jin-hyeok stared at Jiang Yuan, who leaned casually against Yan Runan. Wariness and apprehension filled his eyes.

Kim Tae-sik had yet to recover from the experience of dying once. Clutching his neck, he looked terrified, furious, and disbelieving all at once.

"Fuck—you, you, you actually dared to attack me!"

"What did you do? Why didn't my Absolute Iron Sword Shield activate?!"

"Why—"

"Shut up!" Park Jin-hyeok turned and shot him a look. The force of his presence